contumacy

American  

[kon-too-muh-see, -tyoo-] / ˈkɒn tʊ mə si, -tyʊ- /

noun

plural

contumacies

1. stubborn perverseness or rebelliousness; willful and obstinate resistance or disobedience to authority.

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contumacy British  

/ ˈkɒntjʊməsɪ /

noun

1. obstinate and wilful rebelliousness or resistance to authority; insubordination; disobedience

2. the wilful refusal of a person to appear before a court or to comply with a court order

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Etymology

Origin of contumacy

1150–1200; Middle English contumacie < Latin contumācia, equivalent to contumāc-, stem of contumāx unyielding, stubborn ( con- con- + -tum- of uncertain sense, though connected by classical authors with both contemnere to regard with contempt and tumēre to swell) + -āx adj. suffix) + -ia -ia

Example Sentences

Ripstein cites his “contumacy,” a fancy synonym for stubbornness, as a decisive factor in maintaining an uninterrupted career for 60 years.

From Los Angeles Times

Monsieur le Chevalier, we shall excuse you for your contumacy, having the means of arriving at information by a higher power.

From Project Gutenberg

He disdained to obey the summons, and his excommunication for contumacy was published in all the churches of Paris.

From Project Gutenberg

To punish this contumacy they were ordered to be silent, and students were forbidden to listen to them.

From Project Gutenberg

Though Rupert himself had obstinately declined to mend his fortunes by marriage, he seems to have been very anxious to overcome his cousin's contumacy.

From Project Gutenberg